Turnbull hits out at political ‘trust deficit’

Former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull has taken a swipe at his own party’s tactics in Question Time, saying Australians have come to see the Federal Parliament as “nothing more than a forum for abuse, catcalling and spin”.

Mr Turnbull made the comments in a wide-ranging speech on “Republican virtues” at the University of Western Australia last night.

He said the Opposition’s questions for the past two years have been almost entirely focused on people smuggling and the carbon tax, and questioned whether they were the only important issues facing Australia.

“If you love your country, have an interest in politics or policy, and care deeply about our nation’s future, there is nothing more certain to arouse your fury and invite your contempt than listening to an entire House of Representatives Question Time,” he said.

Mr Turnbull said his comments were not meant as a criticism of either Prime Minister Julia Gillard or Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

“I am not suggesting politicians are innately less accurate or truthful than anyone else. But rather that the system is not constraining, in fact it is all too often rewarding spin, exaggeration, misstatements,” he said.

“This is not a criticism of Tony Abbott or Julia Gillard– there was a concentration of themes when I was leader and Kevin Rudd was prime minister – it is a consequence of having the Prime Minister the focus of Question Time every single day. And while other issues and departments are debated in other parts of the parliamentary day, Question Time is prime time and for most Australians the only part of parliament they are likely to watch,” he said.

Mr Turnbull suggested Australia adopt a British-style Question Time system where other ministers are also called to answer questions.

“I don’t think the prime minister of Great Britain is any less accountable than our own, but what I do know is that under their system, instead of having the same questions and answers every day, a range of different issues and different departments are held to account.

“If we were to do that, or some variant thereof, Question Time might actually serve to hold the whole of the Government to account and enlighten the public as to what is going on in all those other departments that are not concerned with carbon tax and people smuggling.”

Mr Turnbull also bemoaned the current state of political discourse, saying politicians needed to recapture voters’ trust.

“It seems to me that we don’t simply have a financial deficit, we have a deficit of trust.

“We can argue for hours which side and which politicians, which journalists indeed, have contributed most to it.

“But it affects all of us and all of our institutions.

“The politicians and parties that can demonstrate they can be trusted, that they will not insult the people with weasel words and spin, that they will not promise more than they can deliver, that they will not dishonestly misrepresent either their own or their opponents’ policies – those politicians and parties will, I submit to you, deserve and receive electoral success.”

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-06/turnbull-takes-a-swipe-at-coalition-tactics/4245598#pluck

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In an address to Federal parliamentarians at a breakfast about ten years ago, Rev. Tim Costello (CEO of World Vision) said: ‘I know you are good people, and you went into politics to make a difference. In normal life, you do not shout others down, or take such glee when they stumble or are embarrassed. You do not point at and abuse others – so what is it about the context of parliamentary question time, where the nation sees you behave like this?’ (‘Hope’, 2012, p. 188).